Illuminating display marks Day 50

• 36-km human chain in Kadapa
• Firemen prevent agitator from jumping to death
• Human chain across Godavari on Cotton Barrage
• TDP MP says resignations would not help the cause

Hyderabad: On Day 50, the Samaikyandhra agitation in Andhra and Rayalaseema regions continued to rage with growing intensity on Wednesday. Government employees, students, teachers, intellectuals and common people joined hands to organize multiple forms of protests, including rasta rook and human chains, with the map of Andhra Pradesh standing out in a dazzling display of lamps in the evening at Srikalahasti.

Elsewhere, there were several novel protests to register public anger against bifurcation of the State. At public meetings in several venues, intellectuals and experts explained the potential ill-effects of bifurcation on irrigation, industrial and other sectors of the State’s economy.

In Kadapa, about one lakh supporters of Samaikyandhra formed a 36-km-long human chain along the Ring Road on the outskirts of Kadapa town on Wednesday. The entire area reverberated with slogans of united Andhra Pradesh. People from surrounding villages, farmers, NGOs, students and women in large numbers participated in the programme, which started at 9 am and continued till noon. The human chain caused heavy traffic jam, leaving hundreds of vehicles stranded on the roads. .

Officials, staff and contract employees of the electricity department in the district held a rally in Jammalamadugu town and raised slogans. They ‘hanged’ portraits of Sonia Gandhi, Digvijay Singh and Chidambaram from electric poles.

In Visakhapatnam city, state convener of Samaikyandhra Political JAC J T Rama Rao created a flutter by climbing up a 150-ft height hoarding in front of Maddilapalem RTC city depot and threatening to jump from there. He demanded the resignations of all MLAs, MPs, State and Union Ministers from the region. As news of his threat to jump spread, a large number of people gathered at the depot. There was heavy traffic jam at the ‘Y’ junction of Maddilapalem. Soon police and fire personnel arrived and managed to bring him down.

In Anantapur, the students of Sri Krishnadevaraya University, under the aegis of the Samaikya Joint Action Committee, performed mock funeral of Central ministers for not tendering their resignations. Potters staged a novel protest by making pots on the road. Teachers raised slogans in favor of unified State by tucking flowers in their ears and standing on one leg in Parigi mandal of the district. Teachers of private colleges taught lessons on the road at Hindupur, while students of Sri Vani Physical Education College took out a procession with dumbbells.

In Tirupati, Samaikyandhra supporters celebrated the 50th day of protests at various places on Wednesday. The students of a private school sat in the shape of ‘50’ to mark the mark. Fifty students appeared in Telugu Talli attire with 50 types of problems like sharing of river water, scarcity of food grains etc. The management of the school offered 50 varieties of ‘prasadam’ to Telugu Talli and distinct ‘Harathi’.

Chittoor Telugu Desam MP N Siva Prasad said that he was committed to a unified state and had offered to resign from his post, but the Speaker had not accepted his papers so far. He found fault with the demand for resignations of elected representatives as there would be nobody in parliament or assembly to voice their opinions and stop the decision. He stressed that a rollback of the decision on Telangana was possible only with the unity among all elected leaders, irrespective of political parties and their agenda.

In East Godavari, a huge human chain was formed in support of Samaikyandhra on Cotton Barrage in Dhawaleswaram. Irrigation higher officials, Lashkars, along with students from all the schools in Dhawaleswaram, and the staff of NG Ranga Agriculture College participated. It stretched from Dhawaleswaram in East Godavari to Vijjeswaram in West Godavari across the river.

MLA Chintamaneni arrested

Vandalism at Kavuri’s camp office

Eluru: The police on Wednesday arrested Denduluru MLA Chintamaneni Prabhakar at his residence in Duggirala of Pedavegi mandal on the charge of destroying the property of Eluru MP Kavuri Sambasiva Rao during Tuesday’s vandalism. It may be recalled that MLA Prabhakar, along with his followers, went to the camp office of the MP on Tuesday, demanding that he should quit his post and join the agitation for a united Andhra Pradesh. Following a complaint lodged by the camp office staff, the police, headed by Jangareddigudem DSP Raghava, and accompanied by Armed Reserve DSP Koteswara Rao, went to the residence of the MLA.

Although initially the MLA’s followers and villagers resisted the police, the MLA later volunteered to go with the police, after pacifying the villagers. The MLA was taken to the Three Town Police Station here. TDP state vice-president Maganti Babu, Eluru Assembly constituency convener Ambica Krishna, TDP leaders Bujji and Pali Prasad, along with hundreds of TDP activists, reached the police station and staged a dharna there. The police produced the MLA in the Court of Second Additional Judicial First Class Magistrate Ch Pavan Kumar who released the MLA on the surety of two persons. The trial was adjourned to September 25.